ASEAN Has a Responsible AI Roadmap, an Expanded Governance Guide, and a Digital Economy Framework Due by End of 2026.
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2026 12:54 pm
ASEAN released Expanded Guide on AI Governance and Ethics January 2025 and adopted Responsible AI Roadmap 2025-2030 March 2025. Vietnam first binding AI law effective March 2026. Digital Economy Framework Agreement DEFA expected end 2026 to create legally binding AI governance interoperability. Philippines presenting AI regulatory framework to ASEAN 2026 under chairmanship of President Marcos Jr. ISEAS documented February 2026 that China's strong presence in AI infrastructure is a rapidly growing trend in Southeast Asia. ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 published 2021 contains no mention of AI across 140 pages. Lowy Institute assessed ASEAN AI governance approach as soft non-binding and consensus driven. ASEAN projected AI adding $1 trillion to GDP by 2030. No ASEAN governance document specifies constitutional command override architecture giving member states verifiable sovereignty over AI systems on their territory whose infrastructure governance answers to American hyperscalers or Chinese platform providers.
Read paper: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21129331
For full paper and sovereign briefings: protocol@fijishi.com
Read paper: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21129331
For full paper and sovereign briefings: protocol@fijishi.com